Sinner's Prey
by lovedbymany56
Summary: Human!Au & Horror!fic. Five brothers, Leo, Aster, Jason, Joey, and Jack, all move into one house where they experience strange paranormal activity. There they fear for what demonic thing lives inside their house and why it preys on their youngest brother, Jack. VERY DARK.
1. Chapter 1

_Fresh Start_

**_For all you horror!fic fans, this might be the story for you! This will probably be no more than ten chapters for this October, based on my free time, I hope to be done with it at the end of the month. _**

**_WARNING: this includes gorey, nightmarish images, cursing, and much more things dealing with horror. _**

**_And yes, there are comments but no flames. This is SO not whelming! _**

**_Disclaimer: Nothing but OCs and ideas guys. _**

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><p>"Jack! Get your arse down here and help us unpack!" Leo hollard to the upstairs with a unimpressed grin. Moments later, a boy with brown hair, brown eyes, and looked to be fourteen at the most, came briskly down stairs, babbeling something about the new house having two bathrooms as he tugged on Leo's grey sweatshirt sleeve.<p>

Leo was a man in his early twenties, had raven hair, blue eyes, and a musculine body. He was also the eldest of four brothers, Jack being the youngest.

There, unstacking boxes was Aster, Jason, and Joey.

Aster had silver mixed with blue dye hair that shot forward in jags like Leo' and Jack's, had evergreen eyes, and was wearing a blue T-shirt that revealed the two tribe tattoos on each of his muscled arms. He was second oldest being twenty.

Jason and Joey were twins, but to actually tell them apart was simple. Jason had a georgous black mane while Joey had dyed his to a dark brown. But both had hazel eyes. They were both seventeen, but Jason was born an hour earlier than Joey, making him the third oldest.

All five brothers had all agree that in order to stay connected, that they would all stay in the same house together until it was time to let go. Which seemed impossible since they all loved each other dearly to death. Leo chuckled and ruffled Jack's head. "That's good to hear, baby brother," he said.

"But we would most enjoy hearing a 'Ah will help,' from ya, fros'bite!" Aster complained and lifted a fairly heavy box and carried it to the kitchen. Jack stuck his tongue out at the grumpy Australian who had joined their family years ago due to adoption. Jack turned to Leo again. "And Lee, there is also a room I think I would like to claim! No objection!" he said out loud so that the others could hear. Leo smiled and lifted Jack's box and handed it to Jack. "Whatever you say, kiddo."

"Hey! I don't think that is fair!" Jason complained.

"Yeah, Jack got to choose his room way before us! He probably took the best of the best!" Joey joined in.

Jack scoffed and threw them a smirk. "I guess some people are right. Idiotic minds think alike," he exclaimed.

Jason and Joey's faces lit up a red color before their eyes darkened with a manace glare. "_You're so dead, frosty!" _they screamed. Jack cackled as the two chased him up the stairs, moments later a reck could be heard followed by Jack's cries saying, "uncle! Okay- okay! i give! Uncle! Uncle! Ow!"

Leo and Aster shook their heads with a laugh and continued unpacking. "So what's the plan?" Aster asked. Leo took a breath and opened a book to see if it was in use. "Ah, let's see... First, we are going to get those three knuckle-heads transferred to a nearby school, then we are going to find another job-"

"Another one? C'mon Leo-"

"Yes another one. By the looks of the house payment plus bills, we need the extra help. Jason and Joey will get jobs too."

"But what about Jack? Who's gonna watch the lil'wanka while were gone?"

Leo pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows. "Well, I can hire a babysitter. Just not a woman- I would rather not have my fourteen year old baby brother be prodded while taking a bath with a rubber ducky," he said. Aster laughed. "Fine, we'll jus' look online to find the finest male babysitters in Burgess. Won't be a problem, mate."

"I don't really think male babysitters would work either Aster. They seems... Odd if you know what I mean."

Aster nudged his brother's shoulder. "Yer such a blowa! Jack may be pretty and all, but Ah doubt anyone would lay a naughty finga on 'im... Not while we're still walkin'," he said in a dark tone. Leo nodded in agreement. "Welp, I gotta head to the station and get some information about this place. Mind staying here and watching over the others?" Leo questioned.

"Mind if Ah don"t tossle them if they irritate me?"

Leo flicked Aster in the nose, making the younger snarl. "Stop it, mate!" the Aussie growled. Leo did it again and earned himself a short wrestling match with Aster.

"Ah said quit it!"

"Or what?! You gonna tossle me?!"

"I'll put mah foot in yer arse, that's what Ahm gonna do!"

"Oooh, I'm so scared! Haha!"

After the short battle was over, ending with Leo giving Aster a noogie, the eldest got to his feet and grabbed the car keys along with the house keys. "Make sure you guys finish unpacking! And make sure the ding-dongs don't break anything, Aster," he said before leaving out the door. Aster snorted with an annoyed smile. He then turned towards the hallway and walked down the hall, exploring anything that came to sight. Yellow tinted walls, smooth and cool, carpeted floors, wide space to probably fit three people shoulder-to-shoulder, and several closets. It looked spacey and full of comfort. Different from their old house.

Aster gazed uo for mere seconds till his eyes came across a string dangling from what seem to be an attic door. He raised a curious eyebrow and pulled down on the string. Out came a ladder, with horrible conditioned wood. The young man wondered if he should climb up the ladder and pray that it would not break, or wait till Leo came back and they could try to repair it. Nah.

Very slowly and carefully, Aster took a step on the ladder, feeling it jolt and hearing it creak. He took a deep breath and placed his other foot above it, now applying all his weight.

_One... _

_Creeeeaaak... _

_Two... _

_Creeeeeeaaak... _

_Left foot... _

_CREEEEEEAK... _

_Right foot... _

_CREEEEEAAAAK! _

Finally, Aster hoisted himself into the dark attic that had only a window suoproting the dim light. It was fairly warm, but not exactly hot. Aster noticed the wooden floor that contained black blotches of ink or some type of dry paint, but ignored it. "Weird..." Every step he took, the floor creaked as if it were about to crash through. Aster then noticed a chest that laid near the wall in the far back of the attic and walked towards it. The gold hinges were dul and rusted, along with a lock that had secured it shut. Aster jostled with it for a sec before folding his arms in wonder of how to crack it open. "Hm?"

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood when an overwhelming feeling came behind him. It felt like something or someone was breathing behind him, causing his heart to race. But he dared not to look back. _Ba-dum... Ba-dum-dum...Ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum! _Breathing could be felt on his neck making him shiver.

Very quickly, the Aussie swished around to be met with a familiar face.

"BOO!" Jack screamed.

Aster yelped in surprise, falling back against the wall.

Jack immediately toppled over with laughter, saying, "Haha! Y... you should have haha!... You should have seen your face!" he said between laughs and pointing his finger to the clearly angered man. "Damn, Jack! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Aster complained. Jack gave him an innocent look. "Oh c'mon, you won't hate me forever will ya? Cuz if so, that scare was so worth it," he snorted. Aster frowned and moved past his little brother. Jack had noticed the chest that instantly drew his attention. The boy scimmed his fingers across the dusty surface and asked, "Hey Bunny, who's chest is this?"

"Leave it be, Jack. Come on, lets get back down, Ah feel like this attic is about ta crash."

Jack pursed his lips and red the edge of the chest. There, carved into it, read 'Kozmotis'. "Kozmotis?" He smiled smally. Funny name, might explore more of this later. He then finally walked to his brother that awaited for him and grinned. "Still, you were so scared," he teased. Aster frowned. "And if ya tell Leo, Ah will personaly kick yer arse," he hissed. Jack only chuckled and climbed back down the ladder. Aster soon followed, but could not help but glance back at the mysterious chest that seemed to give him that overwhelming chill down his spine. He shrugged it off and climbed back down, being sure to close the attic door.

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><p>After sundown, the five brothers sat at a table with still a few more boxes surrounding them as they ate chicken-fried rice and drank soda. "So, how are we liking the new house?" Leo asked.<p>

"I like it," Jason answered.

"Me too," said Joey.

"It's alright," Jack joined.

Leo waited for Aster's reply, but the Aussie kept quiet like he was dozing off into lala land. "Aster? Aster!" Leo called. The Aussie was pressed from his thoughts and dropped the still fork. "A- what? Yeah?" he stammered. Everyone looked at himin an odd manner.

"Everything alright, bro?" Leo asked.

Aster nodded. "Yeah, jus'... Man, Ah feel odd. Earlier today, Ah went into the attic-"

"We have an attic?" both Leo and the twins asked.

Aster and Jack nodded. "Yeah. And while Ah was up there, Ah found this chest."

"Well, did you open it?" Leo questioned. Aster shook his head solemly. "No, it was locked. But the strangest thing was that it looked like it hasn't been touched in a long while."

"It belongs to some guy name Kozmotis," Jack spoke up.

"Kozmotis? That's a dumb name," Jason muttered. Leo snapped a scolding at his younger brother before allowing Jack to go on. "Must be a guy that lived here before. We should try to open it or something," Jack suggested. Leo shrugged and took a drink from his cup. Aster groaned and stood. "Hey, it's gettin' late, Ah think Ahm gonna hit the hay."

"Me too," Leo said and stood, "Jason and Joey, I want you both up at eight, we are going to look for a job first thing tomorrow." Jason and Joey groaned in complaint. "Who's gonna watch out for Jack?" Joey questioned in hopes that Leo would let him slide and stayat least. "I can take care of myself!" Jack objected. "Yeah, Leo. It'll only be for half a day," Aster agreed. Leo shook his head. "No, we don't know this place well- for all we know a murderer could be at our doorstep by now," he exclaimed. Jack groaned. "But Leooo!"

"No buts, Jack. Now all of you get to bed," Leo said before throwing away his plate and leaving down the hallway. The other four sighed and walked to their own bedrooms. Hardly di they notice that the attic door cracked open by long, blood smeared fingers sticking out.

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><p>As Leo slept in his bed, he was stirred awake by the sound of his door making a creak as it was wedged open. Navy blues snapped open in alert and gentle breaths went to strangled inhales. His body stiffened like ice by the sudden presence alerting him from his sleep. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the shadown of a figure standing towards his back. His fingers clutched his pillow as the sudden fear arose inside him.<p>

"Leo," a soft whisper spoke. Leo released a breath of relief and blinked sleepily. "What Joey?"

"I think Jack is having another nightmare. Jason heard him whining from the other room."

Leo groaned and stood up with a stretch. It wasn't shocking or new for Jack to have nightmares. They were continuous ever since Jack had fell in a frozen lake at age eight. The nightmares of him drowning and at the point of death scarred him for years and still counting. Leo gently told Joey to go back to bed and he himself trudged upstairs. The mumbling and soft cries of his little brother grew closer as he made his destination to Jack's door and walked in. His eyes were amazed to see that paintings of a snowy wasteland just outstanding pictures of polar bears, penguins, and other cold habitat animals were delicately painted all over the walls followed by snowflakes and flurries of snow. He gazed to the bed near the door and sure enough, Jack was there, thrashing weakly in the bedspread. His face was flushed and had beads of sweat running down. His ruffled locks were smothered to his forehead and tears streaming from his eyes as he whimpered soft whimpers that sounded like prayers.

Leo calmly sat on the edge of the younger's bed and lifted the teen up by the torso, holding him tightly to his chest as Jack struggled. "There, there, Jack. Wake up, it's just a dream," Leo whispered. Jack's flinching soon grew more feirce like jolts, but Leo kept that firm hold and kept whispering encouraging words. After the quiet battle, Jack shot awake with a gasp and clutched tightly onto his older brother, sobbing into the man's chest. Leo ran his hands through Jack's hair and pressed his cheek to the shaken child's head.

"Sh, shshshsh, it's okay, you're fine. You're fine, you're safe. You're safe baby brother," Leo crooned.

Jack choked on a sob. "I-I was dr-drowning, Lee! He-he was dr-drowning me!"

Lee paused, feeling as if something hit him in the stomach with a bat. He furrowed his eyebrows in suspicion.

Who was _he? _

Leo didn't bother questioning his truamatized brother, but instead allowed Jack to fall asleep in his arms. Leo don't feel tired anymore and looked at the clock beside Jack's bed.

4:00 am.

"I guess I can stay up for the rest of time," he muttered, rubbing Jack's back and gazing around at the remarkable paintings.

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><p><strong>So there you have it. Gets better promise. REVIEW!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

_Strange _

**_Thanks I guess for the support. Hopefully this should spike a nerve or two. _**

**_Disclaimer: The Loved Foundation is broke as shit and cannot buy from Dreamworks!_**

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><p>It was morning, about a quarter pass eight and all five siblings sat eating breakfast on the table. The house was slightly warm so they did not have to worry about the winter chill outside that would be eliminated once entering the home. "Everyone sleep well?" Aster asked. Leo felt himself stiffen a bit and could not help but allow his eyes wander to Jack. The younger did not look shaken as usual- in fact, he looked rather calm. Still, this did not give the eldest the benifit of the doubt. Jack shrugged. "Eh, I slept well I guess," he chirped.<p>

Jason rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you woke me up."

"And you woke ME up, ass face," Joey retorted.

The twins glared at each other as they threw harsh growls and words in between their sentences. "Hey, you two knock it off," Aster scolded. Leo rolled his eyes and moved on to Jack. "You sure, baby bro? You seemed to be a mess during your... Dreaming," he said gently as possible.

Jack raised an eyebrow and shook his head with a snort. "I couldn't have been in _that _bad of condition, right? I mean, c'mon Lee, I have nightmares almost every night give or take-"

"Who's _he_," Leo finally spoke out.

Everyone paused in a concerned state, including Jack, who had that frightened, confused complextion. "W-what do you mean?" he questioned.

Leo picked as his plate. "When I went to check on you, you said someone was drowning you in your nightmare."

Jack instantly dropped his fork and stood up, glaring at Leo. "You really just have to point out everything, do you?!" he yelled. The older brothers were startled by the youngest's outburst, especialy Leo. Jack then turned away, ran out the kitchen, and up the stairs. Joey and Jason glanced at Leo unsurely before going after to comfort their baby brother.

Frustrated and stressed, Leo buried his face in his hands with a groan. Aster stood and walked tobhis older brother's side, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, mate. Jack just hates the subject being brought up- you know that."

Leo rubbed his temples. "I know, I know... I just want him to be happy- I failed him once Aster... Now look what happened."

"Oi, don't go draggin' that burden upon ya. You weren't there ta see Jack fall in that lake, ya just made it in time ta save 'im from death- you should be proud of that, Lee. I know Ahm proud of ya, and so is Jack."

Leo sighed and began cleaning the table. Yet, as he kept his gaze down, his question still bogged his mind.

Who was the stranger in Jack's dream?

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><p>"Jason, Joey, Aster! Come on guys, we gotta go! I start work in two hours," Leo hollard.<p>

Moments later, the three younger siblings- except Jack- came rushing down the steps. Leo stopped Jason by the shoulder and asked, "Wait, where's Jackson?" Jason gave him a smugged look and did a roll of his eyes. "Oh, he's just in his room, refusing to go. You're not gonna threaten to shove him in a lake, are you?" he spat with a hint of venom in his voice before shrugging the eldest's hand off his shoulder and following the other's to the car.

Leo frowned at Jason's snarkiness, but had to remind himself that Jason was a troubled child and had a bad habit of anger and atittude. The young man gazed up at the stairs, just in time to see Jack pull his head back from the corner, followed by the sounds of footsteps and a door shutting. Leo thought about going up there and having a talk with Jack, but decided that he should leave the youngest be. Jack at least needed te to cool down. With a low sigh, Leo walked outside and locked the door shut.

Moments later after the sound of the car pulling out the driveway could be heard, Jack peered once again from the corner. In his hands was a crowbar that was painted a snowy white for some odd reason. Deep brown eyes scanned to see if the close was clear before quickly running down the steps and cutting into the hallway. He gazed up at the attic door's string, surprised to see that the door was slightly cracked open. He made a confused sound, but shrugged it off and reached on his tiptoes for the string. Once grabbed, he pulled down and out came the ladder.

Never once afraid nor cautious of the dreaded creaks, Jack climbed his way up. He poked his head out, searching the hallowed area till his eyes detected the one thing he was looking foor.

In the center of the room was the box. Wait...

Was the chest at the back of the attic before?

Jack yet again, shrugged. Aster or Leo must have moved it or something. The teen lifted onto the dusty floor that dirtied his bare feet, and he walked to the chest. With a jam of the crowbar and with all his strength mixed with wieght, Jack heard a loud 'clank'.

The chest's lock had broke.

Excitement boiled inside him as his anxious hands found themselves lifting the chest open. A cloud of dust blew to Jack's face, causing him to sputter a cough from inhaling the stuff. Once his vision was clear, Jack allowed his orbs to wander through the various items that laid within the box.

First, there were letters that looked to be a decade or more old. Jack lifted one to read the neatly, smeared cursive letters, all refering to the man 'Kozmotis.' Jack found it rude to go through another's mail, so maybe he would scoop in on that another time.

Next, Jack found a tape in one of the pockets. He lifted itbup and observed it curiously. He did not know of they owned a tape player, but he might be able to find one. Like a child stealing a candy, Jack stuffed the tape in his hoodie pocket.

His hands dug in and dug out the odd items found in the cheat- children books, toys, small teddy bears, socks, shoes, fake jewlery, and... More tapes.

Suddenly, his eyes caught a glint of something shiny hanging from one pocket.

His fingers laced through what seemed to be a chain and pulled, revealing a rusty silver locket. He pursed his lips and ran his thumb over the dusty image. There, in the picture, was a woman, a man, and a little girl.

The girl looked to be about eight years old, with long straight raven hair, and dazzeling green eyes. An angelic smile stretched across her teeth, revealing small white teeth and cute dimples in her cheek. She had the features of what looked to be the two people cradling her- her parents.

The mother had curls of a darkish brown hair, had beautiful green eyes, and a perfect structure face. She was just as beautiful. Her features had not one flaw.

The man, on the other hand, was rather different. The bridge of his nose stuck out just a bit, and his lips were thin and a bit chapped. His eyes gleamed a dull hazel, which did not go so well with his spiky jet black hair.

Jack assumed that this man could be Kozmotis.

Despite complexions and flaws, the small family looked beautiful as well, happy. Jack found himself smiling and placing the locket in his pocket.

"I think that's about enough exploring for now," Jack chuckled and stood to his feet, dusting his pants and closed the chest. As he walked to the ladder and began climbing down, he noticed that the chest was making a shaking movement. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and squinted. Disbelief filled him as the chest now began thrashing feircly, along with the lid flapping open repeatedly.

_"Stay..._" a voice, a barely heard whisper spoke through the darkness.

Jack stiffened. No, did he just hear that? He hadn't moved and stared at the box in disbelief. As it shook more rougher, he felt his heart increase greatly.

_"STAY..." _

There, he heard it again. Jack quickened his inhales and exhales. He trembled and his eyes widened. His voice was caught in his throat that made it almost impossible for him to scream or speak a word or two. It was till then, when he saw a blur of black sweep behind from the chest. The boy felt like crying.

"**STAY!**" a deep, rough, _demonic, _voice roared, loud enough for the teen to take an eager step on a loose ladder step.

_SNAP _

"Ah!"

Jack fell back and from a five foot drop, he landed head first onto the wooden floor. Stars blinded his vision along with black dots as he felt something warm seep over his scalp. Jack's eyes droppes lazily as he laid there, dazed and wounded. As he stared up at the attic, he couldn't figure out how he ended up on the floor.

The last thing he knew was black.

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><p>Leo, Aster, Jason, and Joey, came through the door around ten thirty. Leo was scolding the twins for their behavior at the Restruant, mentioning that it was highly inapproppriet to give the waitress a 'personal tip' for her slim waist and ass.<p>

"C'mon Leo, you know you enjoyed the way she tried to seduce you; '_Oh Mr. Macho- what? Excuse me, that's not your name? Hm, maybe I don't diserve a TIP, tehehe!" _Joey mocked in the worse female voice anyone would ever hear. Leo rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Whatever. Man, I gotta call Tony and tell him I'm gonna gonna be a few minutes late."

Right then as Leo cut across the end of the hallway, a heap on the floor suddenly caught his eye, and he literaly dropped the stack of application papers.

"My God, Jack!" he cried, skidding on his knees to the fallen boy's side. His cry brought the other sibling's attention. They quickly ran over to Leo and Jack. "What happened?!" Aster asked in concern, he too kneeled on Jack's other side. His ever-greens spotted the broken ladder step and cursed under his breath. "He's bleeding. Quick, Jason go get paper towles- Joey, call the peramedics," Leo ordered. Neither of the two hesitated and did as they were told.

Aster could see the fear in Leo's eyes. He was afraid too.

"What the hell was he doing in the attic?" Leo whispered shakily.

Aster knew the answer. That stupid chest.

Moments later, Jason came back and gave Aster the napkins. Aster gave them to Leo so that the eldest could apply pressure to Jack's bleeding head. "Is 'e gonna be alright?" Aster asked in worry. His eyes never left Jack. Leo only shook his head confused. "I-I don't know, I... Joey, are the peramedics coming?!" he nearly screamed. Joey appeared with the phone to his ear, explaining the problem to the operator. "Yes, he um, fell from the attic ladder, and-and he's bleeding from his head, and-and we need help!... Hurry!" Joey hung up and looked at his other brother's with frightened eyes. "Their coming Leo," he informed.

Leo swallowed the lump in his throat and as he worried, mostly feared for his little brother, neither him or the others couldn't help but gaze upwards at the attic's dark entrance. It sent shivers down each of the older brother's spine.

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><p>Hospital cars were parked at the sidewalk of the Overland Brothers' house along with a group of firemen who awaited patiently near the truck.<p>

Inside, Leo talked to one paramedic named 'Luis' while three others checked and looked over the still unconscious Jack, who was now currently laying on the couch.

Yeah, so is he going be okay?" Leo asked impatiently, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Well, I do believe so, but there are rather high chances that he may have suffered a minor concussion and probably might not remember anything of the incident. Just make sure he stays awake for about five hours once he actually does awake. There are low chances of that also, he hit his head pretty hard."

Leo felt himself go stiff in worry. "Whoa, what do you mean? What he might DIE?"

Luis furrowed his eyebrows. "Uh, no. He just might stay knocked out for the day, I am just saying that if he so happens to wake up, he needs to stay awake for five hours to the least. To shake off the fall."

Leo released a breath he never realized he had been holding and shook the man's hand. "Thank you," he said. Luis smiled and gave a jolly salute. "Happy to help, sir. Alright boys, pack it up," he ordered the other three paramedics. Soon, the people were out and their sidewalkwas cleared.

Aster appeared next to Leo and placed something in his hand. Leo flinched and gazed down at the tape.

"Ah found it in one of Jack's pockets."

Leo frowned and silently thanked his brother. Aster sighed, realizing his older siblings was in no mood to talk. "Ah'll go get 'im some blankets," he said before walking upstairs. Leo stared down at Jack for a few long moments, then allowed his gaze to falter down at the tape in his hands. He pursed his lips and gazed to the attic they had closed awhile ago.

For some reason, something deep inside gave him the desire to find out himslef what Jack saw.

Or maybe...

What Jack found...

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><p><strong>Okay clearly I wasn't going to be finished by the month as I had hoped, but I guess I can make the best of it... REVIEW!<strong>


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